Literary and Critical Theory

Literary theory has become the hegemonic methodology for the study of text and is often regarded both as a sub-discipline in itself and as a critical tool through which to liberate deeper and more complex meanings from texts. It encompasses a massive range of topics, including periods, movements, themes and works that make it a dynamic field of study. It is constantly evolving as writers from different areas make connections with what might be termed mainstream literary theory and these writers, in turn, become part of the theoretical enterprise. While this presents problems for the classifier and the bibliographer, it is an example of the dynamic and constantly-developing aspects of the field that have made it such an indispensable tool in the area of reading texts, be these texts written, iconic or socio-cultural. As such, this area invites trans-disciplinary collaboration with fields as varied as literature, history, cultural studies, and philosophy making it challenging for students and scholars to stay informed about every applicable area. Given that literary theory draws from other disciplines such as linguistics, philosophy, psychoanalysis, sociology, the social sciences and work from non-Anglophone cultures and traditions, the very scope which makes it a necessary tool for contemporary academics and intellectuals can be off-putting in terms of locating a starting point for any specific inquiry. Oxford Bibliographies in Literary and Critical Theory will offer clearly-signposted pathways through the different areas, and will make clear references to the other disciplines which feed in to, and are often transformed by, literary theory.

Editor in Chief

Eugene O’Brien is Senior lecturer and Head of the Department of English Language and Literature in Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland. He is also the director of the Mary Immaculate Institute for Irish Studies. His publications include: Seamus Heaney – Creating Irelands of the Mind; Seamus Heaney and the Place of Writing; Seamus Heaney: Searches for Answers and Kicking Bishop Brennan up the Arse – Negotiating Texts and Contexts in Contemporary Irish Studies. His latest book, From Prosperity to Austerity: A Socio-Cultural Critique of the Celtic Tiger and its Aftermath, co-edited with Eamon Maher, was published in 2014 by Manchester University Press, and his forthcoming book on Seamus Heaney as an aesthetic thinker will be published by Syracuse University Press. He is currently working on an edited book on the Later Poetry of Seamus Heaney with Notre Dame University Press.

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